Bobby Allison, NASCAR Hall of Famer and 3-time Daytona 500 winner, dies at 86

The Associated Press
November 10, 2024, 7:38 AM


Bobby Allison FILE - Bobby Allison stands beside his car and talks with the press after winning the pole position during qualifying for the 500 mile grand national stock car race at Pocono Raceway, Aug. 2, 1975, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/File)
AP Photo/File

Bobby Allison, founder of racing’s “Alabama Gang” and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, died Saturday. He was 86. ... NASCAR released a statement from Allison’s family that said he died at home in Mooresville, North Carolina. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Allison had been in declining health for years.

Allison moved to fourth on NASCAR’s Cup Series victory list last month when chairman Jim France recognized him as the winner of the Meyers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina in 1971. The sanctioning body updated its record books to reflect the decision, giving Allison 85 wins and moving him out of a tie with Darrell Waltrip.

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He helped put NASCAR on the map with more than his driving. His infamous fight with Cale Yarborough in the closing laps of the 1979 Daytona 500 served as one of the sport’s defining moments.

“Cale went to beating on my fist with his nose,” Allison has said repeatedly, often using that phrase to describe the fight. “Cale understands like I do that it really was a benefit to the interest of racing. It proves that we were sincere.”

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